The present invention relates generally to a contactor for mixing and separating immiscible liquids. More particularly, the invention relates to an improved apparatus and method for mixing and separating liquid salts and metals at temperatures up to 800.degree. C.
Centrifugal contactors are useful for chemical separation processes. Centrifugal contactors offer the following advantages over other types of extraction equipment:
1. Continuous countercurrent operation in a compact multistage unit.
2. A simple design that is easy to build, operate and maintain.
3. Compact size which allows fast startup and shutdown, which has greater nuclear criticality safety and permits operation in confined spaces.
4. A flexible design which allows for a wide range of phase ratios, feed and product stream locations and numbers of stages as dictated by the desired process.
A pyrocontactor is a high-temperature centrifugal contactor which is capable of mixing and separating liquid salts and metals at temperatures up to 800.degree. C. A pyrocontactor provides a mixing region for mixing and extracting two immiscible liquids and a centrifugal separating zone for separating the liquid-liquid dispersion into two phases. These contactors can be used in a wide variety of applications which include (1) separating transuranic (TRU) elements from the waste salt generated from the fuel cycle of a fast reactor that recycles and burns all TRU elements and (2) purifying plutonium from intractable scraps and residues accumulated at the Department of Energy production sites. Pyrocontactors also can be used for separating metallic elements in a wide variety of applications.
Efficient and effective mixing in a pyrocontactor is critical to obtaining satisfactory end results. While on inventor has alluded to the importance of mixing in typical centrifugal contactors (please see U.S. Pat. No. 5,024,647), no prior art structure which is designed to maximize the amounts of mixing energy imparted per unit volume of liquid in a centrifugal contactor is known to the inventors.
It is therefore an object of the invention to provide an improved apparatus and method for mixing and separating liquids.
It is a further object of the invention to provide an improved centrifugal contactor for mixing and separating immiscible liquids.
It is yet another object of the invention to provide an improved centrifugal pyrocontactor which provides more effective mixing than prior art devices.
A still further object of the invention is to provide an improved method and apparatus for mixing and separating liquid salts and metals at high temperatures.
Further objects and advantages of the present invention, together with the organization and manner of operation thereof, will become apparent from the following detailed description of the invention when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.